YPF’s Profits Tumble; Venezuela Hikes Minimum Wage By 1,218%

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Bloomberg Línea — Argentine energy and oil company YPF, in which the state is the majority shareholder, recorded net profits of $247 million in the fourth quarter of last year, a figure 54.2% below the same period of 2020.

The minimum wage in Venezuela has taken a surprise leap after President Nicolás Maduro announced a 1,218% increase, establishing the base income for workers and pensioners at half a petro, the cryptocurrency introduced in 2018, and which is an equivalent daily wage of $29.

On the region’s stock markets, Chile’s IPSA (IPSA index and the S&P BVL Peru (SPBLPGPT) were the two best performers in Latin America. Argentina’s Merval (MERVAL) had the worst performance in the region, one day after the government announced an agreement with the International Monetary Fund.

Mexico’s S&P BMV/IPC (MEXBOL) ended the session down 0.38%, while Brazil’s Ibovespa (IBOV), the main index of the largest stock exchange by market capitalization in Latin America, lost 0.60%.

Following is a roundup of Friday’s news from Bloomberg Línea and Bloomberg reporters across Latin America.

Argentina:

YPF (YPF), the Argentine energy and oil company in which the state is the majority shareholder, recorded net profits of $247 million in the fourth quarter of last year, a figure 54.2% below the same period of 2020.
Economy Minister Martín Guzmán stated Friday that “the main objective in macroeconomic policy” is to reduce inflation and, for this purpose, the first thing that is needed is to “calm expectations”, after the agreement reached with the International Monetary Fund staff earlier this week. The country’s congress members have now been handed the memorandum of economic and financial policies that the government and the IMF have agreed on, and next week the debate in committees will begin.

Brazil:

State-owned oil company Petrobras’ lack of response to the increase in oil prices is making it economically unviable to import gasoline and diesel to Brazil, the Brazilian Association of Fuel Importers (Abicom) has said.

Chile:

Mining companies and copper operators are breathing a sigh of relief after the consultative council in charge of drafting Chile’s new constitution rejected a series of radical proposals, such as banning private ownership over some natural resources.
The country’s copper production will recover after a drop in January, according to the president of the country’s mining society.

Colombia:

Presidential candidate Gustavo Petro emerged as the favorite for this year’s presidential elections in a survey conducted by Invamer, in which he is seen as winning both the first and second round of the election, and which saw the Colombian peso appreciate trading at 3,824 to the U.S. dollar on Friday.

Costa Rica:

Costa Rica’s financial watchdog (Sugef) issued a circular warning the Central American country’s financial sector to carry out the necessary due diligence on any operation or transaction carried out with counterparties from Russia or Belarus in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Ecuador:

Mercado Libre will open offices in Ecuador, the country’s Ministry of Production announced after a meeting with the country manager of the firm, Philippe Fossaert, and other executives. The company’s objective will be to democratize e-commerce and integrate small and medium-sized companies.
The country has so far repatriated 248 Ecuadorians from Ukraine.

Mexico:

Mexico’s Finance Minister Rogelio Ramírez de la O, said Friday the government will will apply an emergency plan to curb the rise in the retail price of gasoline in the face of higher international oil prices in recent days due to the war between Russia and Ukraine.
The Russia-Ukraine conflict has increased concerns about its implications on the price of tortillas, one of Mexico’s main foodstuffs, given that the two countries at war are major corn producers.

Peru:

A new initiative to allow the early withdrawal of pension funds has been presented in Congress by the Peru Libre party, the political group that brought Pedro Castillo into power. The bill, if signed into law, would allow those who withdrew up to 4UIT (17,600 soles or $4,695) from their individual accounts in 2021 to withdraw, this time, 100% of their pension funds, in order to provide immediate liquidity to such people.

Uruguay:

Inflation in Uruguay advanced again in February and closed at 8.85% in the last 12 months, according to data released by national statistics institute INE. The figure was 0.7% higher than the January figure of 8.15%. Vegetables, fuels and education expenses had the main impact on the increase of the Consumer Price Index.

Venezuela:

The minimum wage in Venezuela has taken a surprise leap after President Nicolás Maduro announced a 1,218% increase, establishing the base income for workers and pensioners at half a petro, the cryptocurrency introduced in 2018. Half a petro is currently equivalent to $29.